Seelonce FINI
by miragedelgado
Summary: ORacle is dead, but did anyone bother to tell Cass?


**Title:** Seelonce FINI.  
**Author:** mirage_delgado.  
**Fandom:** DC Universe.  
**Characters:** Cassandra Cain and an OFC (Nikki says 'hi') with special guest appearances by Tim Drake/Wayne and Barbara Gordon.

**Disclaimer:** DC Comics owns all. (And Superboy, too. Who knew?)

**Author's Notes:** 1) Part Three in a revision of a series I call The Rochesterverse. 2) Set immediately after BIRDS OF PREY #10. (Post Death of Oracle, pre-FLASHPOINT.) 3) A bit of dialogue is *a-hem* inspired by RED ROBIN #17.

* * *

**To:** Kasumi. **From:** RollerThunder. **Date:** 22:57 EST. 04/14/11. **Subject:** (NO SUBJECT)

Cass, this is the last communication you will ever receive from Oracle. I wish I had the time to properly explain. I apologize for being so cryptic, but recent events have forced me to leave an explanation for another time. I hope I'll be the one to deliver it.

Give my regards to Nikki, kid. And take care of yourself, always.

Oracle.

* * *

Cassandra Cain stared at the computer screen in confusion, unable to comprehend the e-mail in front of her. Her knowledge of written English was merely adequate, to be frank, but good enough that she recognized the syntax of the words as having been written by Barbara Gordon. But there was something...off about it. The secretive nature of it fit Barbara to a tee, but the usual 'playful-yet-protective' tone of her mentor's communiques had been replaced by a sense of dread -no, of finality- that didn't sound like Oracle at all.

Or she could just be reading too much into it. Damn.

Cass slammed the laptop shut in frustration. If only she was sitting face-to-face with Barbara, then she would know -absolutely _know_- if her friend was in danger. But, with Barbara being so very, well, _Barbara_, that wouldn't be an option. She hadn't returned any of Cass' phone calls for the past three days. All of the e-mails Cass had sent to Barbara's account had been returned, rejected by the server. And Cass had discovered that a year's worth of back-and-forth encrypted e-mails between the two of them had been mysteriously deleted from her inbox. When the Oracle states that there will be no further communication ever again, it's an ironclad statement.

The smell of something on fire followed by the shriek of a smoke detector (and a sharply stated profanity) brought Cass' out of her reverie. She cast a glance at the clock; just a little before eleven. That will teach her to leave her girlfriend unsupervised this late at night, she thought as she headed for the kitchen.

Cass leaned against the kitchen doorframe, quietly watching the young woman bent over the stove. Nikki Caldon was furiously scraping a charred and blackened substance off of a skillet, without much success. Cass noted with approval that Nikki was wearing nothing but a white bath towel, still dripping wet from a shower, her dyed pink-black bangs hanging over her eyes. "Are you frying charcoal?" she asked.

"Zip it, smartass," Nikki demanded. Tossing the spatula to the side, she flipped the skillet upside down and shook it. Nothing fell out. "Damn, this happens every time..."

Cass reached for the skillet. "Here. Let me try."

"Um... Honestly, babe, you are not one to talk."

"True. But I'm still a better cook than you. Maybe I can salvage some of it."

Nikki stuck her tongue out, but she relented the skillet. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Cass grabbed the spatula and started scrapping. "What _was_ this?"

"Hashbrowns. Did you get in touch with the big O yet?"

"No. Not yet."

Nikki draped her arms over Cass' shoulders. "I'm sure she's okay."

Cass often struggled with English. Body language was an entirely different matter. Nikki said the words 'I'm sure she's okay,' but Cass heard it as a well-intentioned lie. "You read the e-mail. You don't really think that."

"Not entirely," she admitted. "But you've got to have hope, Cassie."

"I know. I do." Cass playfully tugged at the bathtowel. "So...cooking in the nude?"

"Cripes, 'Mom,' I'm wearing a towel."

"Always a good idea..."

"I knew you'd dig the view."

"Not what I meant."

"So I had a craving for greasy fried food after a marathon cramming session for my metahuman sociology exam this week. Sue me."

"Really, cooking this late is dumb."

"Oh, don't be silly. I'll accidentally set our entire building on fire long before I get a grease splattered burn on my fat ass."

"I mean it's not healthy to eat right before bed. You'll get fat overnight if you go to sleep without exercise. And ruin your _magnificent_ ass."

"Your concern for my ass is both noted and touching," Nikki smiled slyly, "but don't worry about it. I know a way to burn off some calories..."

Cass watched as Nikki took a step back and slowly disrobed the towel wrapped tightly around her body, letting it drop to the floor. The skillet fell from Cass' hand simultaneously. She felt her face flush and the tug of Nikki's arm as the smaller woman led her to the bedroom. She didn't resist.

* * *

"Where are you right now?" Nikki asked.

"I'm right here, in bed."

"That's not what I meant, Cassie. What are you thinking about?"

"You, mostly," answered Cass. Nikki Caldon is like no one she had ever known, certainly nothing like her parents. Her parents are professional assassins. Monsters. Her mother had abandoned her after her birth, re-entering her life only when she had come of age. It was her father who had raised her, with a fanatic's devotion to his dark art. He gave her the training to kill with her bare hands and the ability to read peoples' physical reactions like a book. He never gave Cass things like love, affection or concern. These things were weaknesses to be loathed and feared.

Except that she didn't. Cass ran away, fell into the custody of the Batman and the care of Oracle. It was Barbara who had raised her. She had taught Cass how to read and gave her a purpose as Batgirl. But there came a time when that wasn't enough. A series of crises tore her new family apart at the seams. Cass lost her way again; all alone, surrounded by more death and violence. And so she ran again, alone (Cass learned later on that Barbara had been keeping watch over her the whole time) on a search for inner peace. She found it in the American Midwest, in the city of Rochester, Minnesota, when she fell in love with Nikki, an unexpected, but definitely not unwelcome, turn of events. Life was good now, with only an occasional burst of necessary vigilantism breaking up the pace of work, play and domestic normality. These thoughts were tumbling through Cass' mind as she sat awake in the dark.

Her lover stirred beneath her. "Tell me about Oracle," Nikki requested.

Cass knew that _She's your friend in a very dangerous line of work who hasn't called back yet. I get that you're worried._ _I'll listen anytime you want to talk about it, you know_? is what she really meant. She shifted her weight off of Nikki. "I already have. Quite often."

"I don't mean in a vaguely generic, 'please the slobbering cape and cowl fangirl' sort of way," she replied. "I mean tell me about her as a person."

"But I like it when you slobber."

"No, you like it when I lick, perv. And stop changing the subject."

"I can't, Nik. You know I can't. It's not..."

"...my place to tell," she interrupted. "I know and respect that. But I'm not asking for secret identities or the key to the Batcave here. I'm just curious as to why she's so special to you." _And if you two used to fuck,_ Nikki's body said.

"No!" Cass cringed. "I've never had sex with Oracle!"

"Okay I believe you," Nikki laughed. "You've really gotta turn off the 'telepathic Ninja-Fu' during pillow talk."

"I'm not a telepath. And you have nothing to be jealous about."

"I'm not!" protested Nikki. Cass raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I am. But not in a sexual way." She wiggled out from under Cass' body, propping herself up on an elbow. "I'm in love with a former superheroine who's best friend is still in the game. And while I acknowledge that there are many valid safety and security reasons as to why she and I shouldn't ever meet in person, I hate the fact that there's this huge part of your life that's kept walled off from me."

"It's not my decision, hon."

"And I get that, I really do. I just don't like it." Nikki's body read _Please trust me._ There wasn't any way that Cass couldn't.

* * *

Long after Nikki had drifted off to sleep, Cass grabbed her cellphone from the nightstand. Her fingers hovered over the tiny keyboard as she thought of whom to text first. She had tried contacting the rest of her family throughout the weekend, without success. Steph hadn't returned any of her messages; too busy on patrol, she assumed. Dick was on an intergalactic mission with the League, according to LexNews. And Bruce didn't text. Ever. But Tim did.

MESSAGE from #KASUMI [24:32 CST. 04/18/11]: Robin, it's me again. Oracle doesn't respond. I'm concerned. Need you to call ASAP.

Next, she pulled up Barbara's number in her contacts.

MESSAGE from #KASUMI [24:34 CST. 04/18/11]: Hi, Oracle. Know U are out there.

MESSAGE from #KASUMI [24:34 CST. 04/18/11]: Why the silent treatment? Did I do something wrong? If so, I apologize.

MESSAGE from #KASUMI [24:35 CST. 04/18/11]: Plz text back. Tell me everything is ok. _Please!_

She sat awake in the dark for hours, waiting for an answer that never came.

* * *

On most days, Cassandra Cain's daily routine consists of getting up before sunrise, brushing her teeth, throwing on an old sweatsuit, heading to the rooftop for her stretching exercises (indoors during the winter) followed by a jog around their neighborhood or a morning workout at the Y (depending on the time of year), returning home in time to kiss Nikki before she heads to class, hitting the shower and getting dressed (clothing no longer optional after the last visit by Nikki's parents), some breakfast and a quick check of her e-mail and texts, then a visit to the library or bookstore before a return trip back home to get ready for work (she leaves the apartment at 10:30 a.m., clocks in at the restaurant by eleven and punches out around seven) and then returning back home for some cuddle time with Nikki before setting the alarm and going to bed.

But not today. Sunlight peeked around the bedroom shade. The old landline phone on Nikki's side of the bed was ringing off the hook. "Baby, grab that..." Cass moaned, still half-asleep. No response. She reached over where Nikki should be sleeping and found nothing but a cold bedsheet. The phone was still ringing. Cass rolled over and answered it. "Hello..."

"God, you sound wasted." Nikki's giggling rang loud and clear over the line. "Glad to know I'm not the only one suffering from exhaustion after last night."

"You're welcome." Cass grinned. "Where are you?"

"I'm down here on the Peace Plaza, just killing time between classes. Are you still in bed?"

"Yes. Why?"

A loud sigh lodged itself in Cass' ear. "Did you re-set the alarm like I told you to?"

"You did?"

"Yes," Nikki said. "Right after the tenth time I told you to get up. Remember?"

"...no."

"Cassie, look at the clock."

She did; 10:49 a.m. "I'm late! Why didn'tyou set the alarm before you left?"

"I did! Twice! You kept yanking the damn clock out of the wall."

"Shit!" Cass shouted (and wouldn't Barbara just be astonished to hear her cuss? Nikki is a terrible influence on her, but she wouldn't want it any other way) as she leapt out of bed in a frenzy. She tripped over the bedsheets entwined around her feet in the process, falling spread eagle on the floor. More cussing. Her daily routine was shot to hell; there was no time left for exercise or e-mails or _anything_, save for a hurried change into work clothes before a frantic rush for work.

And the damn phone was ringing again! No, it wasn't the landline; its' receiver was dangling off the hook. It was the cellphone pinging, announcing an incoming text.

MESSAGE from #RED_X [10:49 EST. 04/18/11]: Hi Cass.

It was Tim. _Finally._ Work can wait a few minutes longer.

MESSAGE from #KASUMI [10:49 CST. 04/18/11]: About time!

MESSAGE from #RED_X [10:49 EST. 04/18/11]: Sorry about that. It's been a busy week. Bat, Inc. business in Beijing and Moscow. Now off to Vancouver.

MESSAGE from #KASUMI [10:50 CST. 04/18/11]: Tim, what's going on? Is she okay?

MESSAGE from #RED_X [10:50 EST. 04/18/11]: Who?

MESSAGE from #KASUMI [10:50 CST. 04/18/11]: Oracle! I've lost contact with her. Doesn't respond to my messages.

MESSAGE from #RED_X [10:51 EST. 04/18/11]: Nobody's told you?

MESSAGE from #KASUMI [10:51 CST. 04/18/11]: Told me what?

MESSAGE from #RED_X [10:51 EST. 04/18/11]: I'll explain in person, not via text.

MESSAGE from #KASUMI [10:51 CST. 04/18/11]: Explain what?

MESSAGE from #RED_X [10:52 CST. 04/18/11]: Have 2 go. Plane's taking off.

MESSAGE from #KASUMI [10:52 CST. 04/18/11]: Tim, answer me!

* * *

Three nights later, a noise -an almost imperceptible whisper of swirling cloth- jolted Cass awake. Someone was in their apartment, standing over their bed, watching them -watching her Nikki!- as they slept.

Cass bolted straight out of bed and assumed a fighting stance in one swift, fluid movement, ready to confront the masked intruder. Even with the black cloak concealing the man's face from her sight, she recognized the familiar presence of Tim Wayne, the man the world knew as the vigilante Red Robin.

Red Robin placed his finger to his lips in a 'shush' gesture, motioned towards the bed. Cass looked to where he pointed. Nikki started to stir.

"Cassie, whatcha doing?" she asked.

"Sorry, hon," Cass replied. "Have to pee. Go back to sleep."

"Okay..." Nikki pulled the covers over her head. She was snoring within moments.

Cass scowled at the cloaked figure. He pointed towards the ceiling, his meaning was clear: _We need to talk. In private. Rooftop._

* * *

"Cass, Oracle is dead." Red Robin said, but his body language said something entirely different: _Nudge, nudge, wink, wink._

"What? I don't understand," Cass admitted. "Are you saying she's not dead?"

"Technically, I never said that."

"Don't be stupid, Tim. It's late at night..."

"Late? Cass," he interrupted, "it's barely past midnight..."

"It's _late_, Tim. You've broken into our apartment, and you've seen Nikki naked, just to tell me 'Oracle is dead, but not really?'"

"She's wearing panties and a Superman tanktop. That hardly qualifies as 'naked.'"

"Not in the mood for games. You should have called first."

"You're right and I'm sorry," he pleaded. "The truth is, I had to sneak out of Gotham. For some pretty lame reasons, Barbara is dead-set against getting anyone involved in this scheme that isn't on her list..."

"List? What list?"

"Of people with access to her new clocktower," Red Robin replied, (and Cass knew better than to ask if she was on the list.) "But my point is, she would've sicced both Batmen on me if she knew I was coming to see you."

"Tim, what is going on? Is Barbara okay or not?"

"Yes, Barbara is fine. Oracle, however, is dead."

Cass stared at Red Robin for cues. He stood motionless in the night, his face set in stone, yet every movement he made told Cass that he was wasn't lying. Quite. It didn't make sense; Barbara and Oracle are the same person. How can one be harmed and the other not? Unless... "She staged her death?"

"I never technically said that, either." The faint hint of a grin appeared on Red Robin's lips.

"But why?"

"I think part of it is just a need to get back to basics. How did she put it? 'Visible heroes have visible enemies, and visible enemies are a distraction.' I don't really know the whole reason," he admitted. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yes..." Cass said in a whisper. "Yes, I am!" She threw her arms around the masked man in a long embrace. "Thank you, Tim."

"Anytime. By the way, I brought you something." Red Robin pulled a plain brown wrapped package from out of a secret compartment in his cape. He handed it to Cass. "I insist you open it before I leave."

She did. Inside was a folded black shirt with a yellow bat symbol emblazoned upon it. "My old uniform? Tim, you shouldn't have..."

"I had a feeling you would say that," he smiled. "Cass, things have settled down in Gotham. Bruce is back. The...family has settled down. I thought maybe it was time to make it all official."

"There already is a Batgirl. The world doesn't need two."

"Sure, and the universe doesn't need two Batmen or three Flashes or 7,200 Green Lanterns, either, but..."

"Point taken." Leaving the costume in the wrapper, Cass traced the outline of the bat-symbol with her finger. "Tim, I don't need this in my life anymore. It's what Stephanie wants, not me."

"And what do _you_ want, Cass?"

What she wants happens to be asleep three floors down. "Just to be happy."

"Fair enough," Red Robin replied, "but just...don't forget about us, okay?"

"Tim, you will always be family. But family isn't always home."

"Understood. Will you at least keep the costume?"

"If it will make you happy."

"Thanks." Red Robin readied his grappling hook and stepped to the roof's edge. "I have a plane to catch back to Gotham and a date with a comfortable bed. I've been up 36 hours straight. It's starting to catch up with me."

Before, he could jump, Cass called out "Barbara's list...have you seen it?"

"I know what you're going to ask. No, your name isn't on it."

"I know. I meant...did Barbara give a reason why?"

"She did." His body was tense with doubt and apprehension. "But I don't think it's my place to say." And without another word, Red Robin leapt off the roof, vanishing into the night.

* * *

**To:** RollerThunder. **From:** Kasumi. **Date:** 23:16 CST. 04/21/11. **Subject:** Hey! Write back! :-)

I'm not sure why I'm sending you an e-mail as the server will send it back. But I have to try.

Just had a visit with Tim. Brought me news of your 'demise' and my old Batgirl uniform. Couldn't decide if I wanted to thank him or kill him. Decided to let him live, but it was a tough decision. ;-)

I know you're out there and safe. You have no excuse for ignoring me now. Please write back, call me or anything. If not, will be forced to take drastic actions. Keep an eye out. ;)

Cass

* * *

"Is that what I think it is?" Nikki asked.

"Yes," Cass responded. It was the next evening, and she stood half-dressed in her old Batgirl uniform, checking herself out in the mirror, absolutely amazed that the black bodysuit still fit as well as it ever did. (She was certain that 'civilian' life had caused her to gain a few inches around the waist.) The rest of the uniform was scattered over their small bedroom; the cape was sprawled over the bed like a dead beast, the utility belt (which Barbara had sent to Cass months before) was slung over a small chair and the gloves lay on the floor from where they had fallen off of the dresser. She absentmindedly caressed the mask between the index finger and thumb of her right hand. "Red Robin delivered it last night."

"God! One of your super-friends was in town and you didn't tell me?"

"Sorry." If Nikki was under the impression that no one had been in the apartment, than Cass let her believe that. "I wanted to break it to you slowly."

"I wouldn't have freaked out, you know," Nikki asserted. "I may have totally geeked out, but I wouldn't have panicked." Only partially true, Cass knew. "So why was he here?"

"I texted him about Oracle."

"Oh. But why did he bring the suit?"

"I'm not sure," Cass admitted. "I think he's...apologizing for the past."

"Does he have anything to apologize for?"

"Not to me."

"You're not going to wear that outside these walls, right?" Nikki asked, but it sounded more like a plea than a question and suddenly, Cass couldn't look her in the eye. "Dammit, Cass! You know I don't want you to add to your body scar collection!"

Cass did. She had been a plainclothes vigilante when she first moved here, but that ended the first time they had been intimate, after Nikki had seen the scar tissue on her back. "Nikki, please..."

"I mean, if the world is under alien invasion by Ming the Merciless and Superman himself asked you to lend a hand, I get that! All hands on deck and whatever! But if you're just going to hunt muggers and pushers every night...I can't _handle_ that."

"Nikki, _of course_ I won't."

"You promised!"

"I remember." Cass sighed. "No 'dark knighting.' Your exact words."

"That's right...Look, I don't mean to nag and bitch, y'know? I just worry."

"And I appreciate it. But I would never go without your approval. _Never_."

Nikki grabbed the utility belt from the chair, wrapped it around her own waist. "It must be hard to keep to that promise, though. Living like that, the life of a swashbuckler...it must be a hell of a thrill."

"Not really. Before I met you, I led a violent life. I don't miss it. I do miss my family sometimes." Cass gently lifted Nikki's chin until their eyes met. She kissed her gently on the lips. "But the company is better here."

"I doubt it," Nikki said with a smile full of tenderness and warmth. "But it's very sweet of you to say so." She draped the cape across Cass' shoulders. "So did Robin mention anything about Big Sister?"

"Yes. He said Oracle was dead. I don't believe him. I'm going to find out why."

"And playing dress-up does this how, exactly?"

"Hoping to get her attention." Cass slipped the mask over her face. "But only if you say so."

Nikki's gasp hitched in her throat. "God, you're surprisingly hot with your face covered up," she blurted out, than blushed. "Wait. Let me rephrase that..."

"No need," Cass grinned. "So can I go?"

"Well, that depends."

"On?"

"Does 'attracting attention' require busting muggers' heads?"

"No, not at all."

"Than I'm really confused." Nikki admitted. "Are you going back to Gotham or something?"

"No. Just downtown."

* * *

Batgirl sat perched upon a gargoyle, scrying the landscape of her city.

Built in 1928, the Plummer Building was the first building of the "new" Mayo Clinic campus of the twentieth century. Topped by a five story, terra-cotta trimmed belltower lit by floodlights and surrounded by stone grotesques, it is Cassandra Cain's favorite building in this town. It reminds her of Gotham and family and the place at least a small part of her still calls home.

It's also surrounded, inside and out, with security cameras, a fact that Cass is sure Oracle well knows. Barbara has never made a secret that she keeps an eye on her friends via various surveillance cameras systems. (Most people would complain about a lack of privacy or a violation of their civil rights, but Cass finds the presence of the all-seeing Oracle's eye to be a comfort.)

And if there was anything that could make Barbara sit up and take notice (and hopefully get her to comment) it was Batgirl Number Two back in action, in uniform. It's why Cass had spent the last three hours freerunning the length of the city. She had swept across rooftops and ran through unlit alleyways, always keeping herself concealed in the dark, making sure to stay out of sight while taking a route that would place her in front of a very specific number of security cameras and striking a pose at each spot for only a few seconds where, had anyone had actually seen her, they would see only a blur darting between shadows.

And it's why Cass was now sitting fifteen stories up, hoping to God she had gotten Barbara's attention.

She was certain she had.

* * *

It was after midnight when Cass returned to the apartment. Nikki had long since gone to bed. After a quick shower, Cass sat down on the couch with her laptop and cellphone to check for any word from Barbara. She opened Outlook Express on screen. One new message, from a contact she didn't recognize. She clicked 'open.'

When Nikki Caldon awoke the next morning, she found Cass deep asleep on the couch, looking absolutely content. Cass' laptop computer sat on the coffee table, while her cellphone balanced precariously on her stomach, rising up and down in rhythm with her breathing.

Nikki noticed the computer was still on, with an e-mail open on screen. It read:

**To:** Kasumi. **From:** Phoenix. **Date:** 24:19 EST. 04/23/11. **Subject:** Cassandra, Please Respond ASAP.

Hi Cass. It's me. Brand new e-mail address. Same old all-knowing, egomaniacal control freak. :(

I tried to call you earlier tonight when you were winging around town, but no luck there. I'd like to believe that you just had the phone turned off while you were out, but I wouldn't be surprised (or offended) if you were giving me a well-deserved taste of the silent treatment.

You have no idea how badly I feel about keeping you out of the loop! I had valid reasons for doing so, it's the execution that was crap. Thank God there's at least one Sane Person in the entire Bat-Clan.

What little bit of information RR told you is correct. Oracle is "dead" to the world, even if I'm doing just fine. I know I have a hell of a lot to explain and much to apologize for, but none of it should be done via a means of communication that isn't both in real time and verbal. Please, please call me when you get back home. My new phone number 1-359-555-1967. I don't care how late it is. Let's talk, please.

Love,

Babs.

* * *

"Big Sister's name is Babs?" Nikki Caldon whispered to herself. "So old school."

Nikki shut down the laptop, quietly plucked the phone from Cass' grasp and placed it upon the coffee table. She bent down to kiss her girl awake. Cass smiled, but didn't wake up.


End file.
